Roman Telescope Update, China's Shenlong Mystery Deepens, and Quantum Breakthroughs in Space
Astronomy Daily: Space News June 24, 2026x
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00:15:5714.66 MB

Roman Telescope Update, China's Shenlong Mystery Deepens, and Quantum Breakthroughs in Space

AnnaAnnaHost
Story 1 — Roman Space Telescope Arrives at Kennedy NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope arrived at Kennedy Space Center on June 21, 2026, beginning a 70-day prelaunch campaign inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility. Launch is targeted no earlier than August 30, 2026, on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy from Launch Complex 39A — eight months ahead of the previous schedule. The observatory's 300-megapixel camera offers a field of view 100× wider than Hubble's. Sources: • NASA Science Blog — 'NASA's Next Generation Telescope Arrives in Florida Ahead of Launch' (June 21, 2026): science.nasa.gov/blogs/roman • Spaceflight Now — 'NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope arrives in Florida' (June 22, 2026): spaceflightnow.com • Discover Magazine — 'NASA's Roman Space Telescope Arrives in Florida Ahead of Late-Summer 2026 Launch' (June 22, 2026) Story 2 — Shenlong Spaceplane Mystery Object At 02:30 UTC on June 22, 2026, commercial space surveillance firm LeoLabs detected an unknown object near China's Shenlong reusable spaceplane, first tracked by the Kiwi Space Radar in New Zealand. LeoLabs assessed with high confidence it was released from the spaceplane — consistent with sub-satellite deployments on previous missions. Shenlong is on its fourth mission, launched February 6, 2026. Sources: • Space.com — 'China's space plane appears to have released a mystery object in orbit' (June 23, 2026) • SpaceNews — 'Chinese spaceplane releases object into orbit, according to commercial space surveillance' (June 23, 2026) • LeoLabs post on X — @LeoLabs_Space (June 22, 2026) Story 3 — NASA Cold Atom Lab Final Upgrade NASA's upgraded Cold Atom Lab aboard the ISS resumed operations in mid-June 2026 following its fourth and final hardware overhaul. The new SM-3X science module, installed by astronaut Jessica Meir on May 8 and activated June 16, creates Bose-Einstein condensates five times larger than before. A White House executive order signed June 22 directed NASA to submit a five-year quantum space plan within 120 days. Sources: • NASA JPL — 'NASA's Quantum Lab Aboard Space Station Gets Chilly Upgrade' (June 16, 2026): jpl.nasa.gov • ScienceDaily — 'NASA's Cold Atom Lab is creating one of the weirdest forms of matter in space' (June 23, 2026) • SpaceNews — 'Trump signs executive order to accelerate quantum space infrastructure' (June 23, 2026) Story 4 — Boeing Starliner-1 Update During an Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel public meeting on June 23, 2026, NASA confirmed that the Starliner-1 uncrewed cargo mission launch target remains under review. Work continues to close propulsion system issues including overheating in the thruster doghouse structures. 22 of 28 implied anomalies from the 2024 Crew Flight Test have been resolved. A February 2026 report classified the CFT as a Type A mishap. Sources: • Spaceflight Now — 'NASA, Boeing committed to Starliner-1 launch despite unclear timeline' (June 23, 2026) • Wikipedia — Boeing Starliner-1 (updated June 2026) Story 5 — SpaceX Starfall Update SpaceX's Starfall reentry capsule launched June 23, 2026 at 6:52 a.m. EDT from SLC-40, Cape Canaveral. Orbital deployment confirmed at 10:01 a.m. EDT. As of June 24, the capsule remains in low Earth orbit. No reentry date has been announced. The disc-shaped capsule is 3.1m across, weighs ~2,100 kg and can carry up to 1,000 kg of payload. Pacific Ocean splashdown ~1,300 km off the US West Coast planned. Sources: • Space.com — 'SpaceX launches its 1st Starfall reentry capsule in early morning Falcon 9 liftoff' (June 23, 2026) • Spaceflight Now — 'SpaceX launches reentry capsule demo mission called Starfall' (June 23, 2026) • TechTimes — 'SpaceX Starfall Reaches Orbit: Disk Capsule Targets Market No Return Vehicle Has Cracked' (June 23, 2026) Story 6 — REBELS-25 Cold Molecular Gas Reservoir Astronomers led from Leiden University discovered a vast reservoir of cold molecular gas — direct fuel for star formation — in the galaxy REBELS-25, seen when the universe was approximately 700 million years old (~5% of its current age). The finding was published June 23, 2026 via Universe Today. Sources: • Universe Today — 'Astronomers discover cold molecular gas reservoir in REBELS-25' (June 23, 2026): universetoday.com

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00:00:00 --> 00:00:02 Anna: Welcome to Astronomy Daily. I'm

00:00:02 --> 00:00:03 Anna.

00:00:03 --> 00:00:05 Avery: And I'm avery. It's Wednesday, the

00:00:05 --> 00:00:08 25th of June, 2026, and you are

00:00:08 --> 00:00:10 tuned in for season five, episode

00:00:10 --> 00:00:12 123.

00:00:12 --> 00:00:15 Anna: We have a varied and secretive show today.

00:00:15 --> 00:00:18 A, uh, beloved space telescope has finally

00:00:18 --> 00:00:21 arrived at its launch site. A secretive

00:00:21 --> 00:00:23 Chinese space plane is doing mysterious

00:00:23 --> 00:00:26 things in orbit. And we have a, uh, genuinely

00:00:26 --> 00:00:29 exciting quantum physics story from right up

00:00:29 --> 00:00:31 on the International Space Station.

00:00:31 --> 00:00:33 Avery: Plus an update on a story we rang.

00:00:34 --> 00:00:36 SpaceX's brand new secret

00:00:36 --> 00:00:39 Starfall capsule is still up there in orbit

00:00:39 --> 00:00:41 and we are watching and waiting for that

00:00:41 --> 00:00:43 Pacific splashdown. More on that shortly.

00:00:44 --> 00:00:46 Anna: But first, let's get straight into the

00:00:46 --> 00:00:49 headlines. A, uh, Further update

00:00:49 --> 00:00:52 on NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space

00:00:52 --> 00:00:54 Telescope, the agency's next great

00:00:54 --> 00:00:57 observatory. And it has arrived at Kennedy

00:00:57 --> 00:01:00 Space center in Florida. And the countdown to

00:01:00 --> 00:01:02 launch is well and truly on.

00:01:02 --> 00:01:05 Avery: This is a big moment. Roman touched down at

00:01:05 --> 00:01:08 Kennedy on 21 June, arriving via

00:01:08 --> 00:01:10 NASA's Pegasus barge after completing its

00:01:10 --> 00:01:13 full assembly and testing phase at Goddard

00:01:13 --> 00:01:15 Space Flight center in Maryland. The

00:01:15 --> 00:01:18 telescope was sealed inside a specialized

00:01:18 --> 00:01:20 shipping container. NASA has nicknamed it,

00:01:20 --> 00:01:22 uh, the Chariot, keeping with the Roman

00:01:22 --> 00:01:24 theme, and made the journey by sea down the

00:01:24 --> 00:01:26 Atlantic coast to Florida.

00:01:26 --> 00:01:29 Anna: And now it's inside the Payload Hazardous

00:01:29 --> 00:01:32 Servicing Facility at Kennedy, where

00:01:32 --> 00:01:34 engineers will spend the next 70 days

00:01:35 --> 00:01:37 preparing it for liftoff. That work includes

00:01:37 --> 00:01:40 checking the solar panels, inspecting the

00:01:40 --> 00:01:43 thermal blankets and crucially, loading the

00:01:43 --> 00:01:45 telescope's propellant tanks with around

00:01:45 --> 00:01:48 290 gallons of hydrazine

00:01:48 --> 00:01:48 fuel.

00:01:48 --> 00:01:50 Avery: Now that fuel load is worth highlighting.

00:01:50 --> 00:01:53 NASA has sized it to support at least twice

00:01:53 --> 00:01:55 the planned five year primary mission

00:01:55 --> 00:01:58 lifetime, meaning Roman could in principle

00:01:58 --> 00:02:01 operate well into the 1940s if the hardware

00:02:01 --> 00:02:01 holds up.

00:02:01 --> 00:02:04 Anna: The launch target is no earlier than Sunday

00:02:04 --> 00:02:07 30 August on SpaceX Falcon

00:02:07 --> 00:02:10 Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A,

00:02:10 --> 00:02:12 the same pad used for the Apollo Saturn V

00:02:12 --> 00:02:15 rockets. And this puts Roman eight full

00:02:15 --> 00:02:17 months ahead of its previous schedule. The

00:02:17 --> 00:02:19 team has really delivered.

00:02:19 --> 00:02:21 Avery: Once it reaches its destination at the second

00:02:21 --> 00:02:23 Sun, Earth Lagrange Point, the same

00:02:23 --> 00:02:25 neighborhood as the James Webb Telescope,

00:02:25 --> 00:02:28 Roman will survey the cosmos in infrared

00:02:28 --> 00:02:31 light. Its 300 megapixel camera covers

00:02:31 --> 00:02:33 a field of view 100 times wider than

00:02:33 --> 00:02:36 Hubble's per single exposure. That means it

00:02:36 --> 00:02:38 can map billions of Galax galaxies, hunt for

00:02:38 --> 00:02:41 hundreds of thousands of new exoplanets, and

00:02:41 --> 00:02:43 probe dark matter and dark energy at a scale

00:02:43 --> 00:02:46 and speed no telescope has managed before.

00:02:47 --> 00:02:50 Anna: Webb goes deep, Roman goes wide.

00:02:50 --> 00:02:52 And together they will give us a picture of

00:02:52 --> 00:02:54 the universe that Neither could achieve

00:02:54 --> 00:02:57 alone. Keep your eye on the skies and

00:02:57 --> 00:03:00 on Kennedy Space center as we head into

00:03:00 --> 00:03:00 August.

00:03:01 --> 00:03:03 Avery: Story two and, um, this one has a Southern

00:03:03 --> 00:03:06 Hemisphere connection. China's mysterious

00:03:06 --> 00:03:08 Shenlong reusable spaceplane, currently on

00:03:08 --> 00:03:11 its fourth mission in orb orbit, appears to

00:03:11 --> 00:03:13 have released an unknown object into space.

00:03:13 --> 00:03:16 And the first radar system to spot it was

00:03:16 --> 00:03:18 right here in our part of the world. The Kiwi

00:03:18 --> 00:03:21 Space Radar in New Zealand, operated by

00:03:21 --> 00:03:22 commercial space surveillance company

00:03:22 --> 00:03:23 LeoLabs.

00:03:24 --> 00:03:26 Anna: At 2:30am UM UTC on

00:03:26 --> 00:03:29 22 June, LeoLabs detected

00:03:29 --> 00:03:31 something in the vicinity of the Shenlong

00:03:31 --> 00:03:34 spaceplane that didn't match anything in

00:03:34 --> 00:03:37 their catalog. They followed it across their

00:03:37 --> 00:03:39 global radar network and confirmed with

00:03:39 --> 00:03:41 high confidence that it was released,

00:03:41 --> 00:03:43 released directly from the Chinese space

00:03:43 --> 00:03:44 plane.

00:03:44 --> 00:03:47 Avery: Now, this isn't entirely unprecedented.

00:03:47 --> 00:03:50 Shenlong has released objects on each of its

00:03:50 --> 00:03:52 three previous missions, though what those

00:03:52 --> 00:03:54 objects actually are, China has never

00:03:54 --> 00:03:57 officially confirmed. On its first mission, a

00:03:57 --> 00:03:59 deployed object appeared to transmit

00:03:59 --> 00:04:01 broadcast signals. On its second, it seemed

00:04:01 --> 00:04:03 to conduct close approach maneuvers near

00:04:03 --> 00:04:06 other objects in orbit. Each time, China

00:04:06 --> 00:04:09 state media gives the same vague line. The

00:04:09 --> 00:04:11 program provides technical support for

00:04:11 --> 00:04:12 peaceful use of space.

00:04:13 --> 00:04:15 Anna: The Shenlong, its name means divine

00:04:15 --> 00:04:18 Dragon. Launched on its fourth mission back

00:04:18 --> 00:04:21 in February on a long March 2F rocket from

00:04:21 --> 00:04:23 the Jiquan Satellite launch Center in the

00:04:23 --> 00:04:26 Gobi Desert. Analysts believe it's

00:04:26 --> 00:04:29 broadly similar in size and function to the

00:04:29 --> 00:04:31 United States Space Force's own

00:04:31 --> 00:04:34 X-37B spaceplane, which is also

00:04:34 --> 00:04:36 currently in orbit on its eighth mission.

00:04:36 --> 00:04:39 Avery: The key capability being demonstrated here,

00:04:39 --> 00:04:42 whether for peaceful or strategic purposes,

00:04:42 --> 00:04:44 is what's called rendezvous and proxim

00:04:45 --> 00:04:48 operations. That's the ability to maneuver

00:04:48 --> 00:04:51 close to other objects in space. It can be

00:04:51 --> 00:04:53 used for satellite servicing and refueling,

00:04:53 --> 00:04:56 but it can equally be used for inspection

00:04:56 --> 00:04:57 or interference.

00:04:58 --> 00:05:01 Anna: We'll continue to watch this one closely. The

00:05:01 --> 00:05:03 radar network that first spotted this new

00:05:03 --> 00:05:06 object is based in Aotearoa, New Zealand,

00:05:06 --> 00:05:09 a reminder of just how important Southern

00:05:09 --> 00:05:12 Hemisphere space infrastructure has become in

00:05:12 --> 00:05:14 monitoring what's happening in low Earth

00:05:14 --> 00:05:16 orbit above all of our heads.

00:05:16 --> 00:05:19 Story three today, and we're heading up to

00:05:19 --> 00:05:21 the International Space Station for a quantum

00:05:21 --> 00:05:24 physics story that genuinely made us stop

00:05:24 --> 00:05:27 and stare. NASA's Cold Atom

00:05:27 --> 00:05:30 Lab, a fridge sized facility aboard the ISS,

00:05:30 --> 00:05:33 has just received its fourth and final

00:05:33 --> 00:05:35 hardware upgrade, and the results are

00:05:35 --> 00:05:36 remarkable.

00:05:36 --> 00:05:39 Avery: Let's set the scene. The Cold Atom Lab has

00:05:39 --> 00:05:41 been operating in orbit since 2018.

00:05:42 --> 00:05:44 Its job is to cool atoms down to

00:05:44 --> 00:05:47 temperatures just above absolute zero.

00:05:47 --> 00:05:49 We're Talking below, below minus

00:05:49 --> 00:05:51 459 degrees Fahrenheit.

00:05:51 --> 00:05:54 Colder than anything that occurs naturally in

00:05:54 --> 00:05:57 space. And then study what happens to matter

00:05:57 --> 00:05:58 at those extremes.

00:05:58 --> 00:06:01 Anna: At those temperatures, atoms can merge into

00:06:01 --> 00:06:03 something called a, uh, Bose Einstein

00:06:03 --> 00:06:06 condensate. A fifth state of matter

00:06:06 --> 00:06:09 beyond your solids, liquids, gases and

00:06:09 --> 00:06:11 plasma. In this state, instead of

00:06:11 --> 00:06:14 behaving like tiny billiard balls, atoms

00:06:14 --> 00:06:17 behave like waves. And they can exist in two

00:06:17 --> 00:06:20 places simultaneously. They can pass through

00:06:20 --> 00:06:22 one another. The normal rules go out the

00:06:22 --> 00:06:23 window.

00:06:23 --> 00:06:26 Avery: Now. Here's why doing this in space matters.

00:06:26 --> 00:06:29 On Earth, gravity pulls these quantum gas

00:06:29 --> 00:06:32 clouds downward Almost immediately you get a

00:06:32 --> 00:06:34 very short observation window. In the

00:06:34 --> 00:06:37 microgravity of low Earth orbit, those

00:06:37 --> 00:06:40 clouds can float and be observed for far

00:06:40 --> 00:06:42 longer. And with the new SM M3X

00:06:42 --> 00:06:45 science module installed by astronaut Jessica

00:06:45 --> 00:06:48 Mair back in May and activated the this week,

00:06:48 --> 00:06:51 the lab can now create Bose Einstein

00:06:51 --> 00:06:54 condensates that are five times larger than

00:06:54 --> 00:06:55 anything it has produced before.

00:06:56 --> 00:06:58 Anna: That's a significant leap. Larger

00:06:58 --> 00:07:01 condensates mean longer observation windows,

00:07:01 --> 00:07:04 finer measurements and the ability to probe

00:07:04 --> 00:07:06 questions at the very frontier of physics,

00:07:06 --> 00:07:09 including the nature of dark matter and the

00:07:09 --> 00:07:11 long unresolved tension between quantum

00:07:11 --> 00:07:13 mechanics and general relativity.

00:07:14 --> 00:07:16 Avery: And there's a policy angle here too. On

00:07:16 --> 00:07:19 22 June, President Trump signed an

00:07:19 --> 00:07:22 executive order directing NASA to submit a

00:07:22 --> 00:07:25 five year plan within 120 days

00:07:25 --> 00:07:28 for developing quantum sensing and networking

00:07:28 --> 00:07:30 for civilian space applications. The

00:07:30 --> 00:07:33 Coldatom lab sits right at the heart of that

00:07:33 --> 00:07:33 ambition.

00:07:34 --> 00:07:36 Anna: Scientists at AH JPL describe this as

00:07:36 --> 00:07:39 quantum 2.0, the direct

00:07:39 --> 00:07:41 manipulation of large quantum states in

00:07:41 --> 00:07:44 space. It took a century for the first

00:07:44 --> 00:07:47 quantum revolution, which gave us lasers,

00:07:47 --> 00:07:50 MRI machines and mobile phones to fully

00:07:50 --> 00:07:53 materialize. The second one is now being

00:07:53 --> 00:07:56 written in orbit in a fridge the size of a

00:07:56 --> 00:07:56 mini fridge.

00:07:57 --> 00:07:59 Avery: Story four brings us an update on Boeing's

00:07:59 --> 00:08:01 Starliner program. And while there's

00:08:01 --> 00:08:04 commitment on the surface, the details are

00:08:04 --> 00:08:06 sobering. During a public meeting of the

00:08:06 --> 00:08:09 Aerospace Safety advisory panel on June

00:08:09 --> 00:08:12 23, NASA confirmed it is still working

00:08:12 --> 00:08:14 toward the Starliner 1 uncrewed cargo

00:08:14 --> 00:08:17 mission, but acknowledged the launch timeline

00:08:17 --> 00:08:20 remains under review and could be as far as a

00:08:20 --> 00:08:21 year away.

00:08:21 --> 00:08:24 Anna: Let's recap. Boeing's Starliner

00:08:24 --> 00:08:27 spacecraft completed its first crewed test

00:08:27 --> 00:08:29 flight back in June of 2024,

00:08:29 --> 00:08:32 carrying NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and

00:08:32 --> 00:08:34 Suni Williams to the International Space

00:08:34 --> 00:08:37 Station. What was meant to be a brief

00:08:37 --> 00:08:40 week long mission became an eight month

00:08:40 --> 00:08:43 stay because of persistent thruster failures

00:08:43 --> 00:08:46 and helium leaks that NASA and Boeing

00:08:46 --> 00:08:47 spent trying to understand.

00:08:48 --> 00:08:51 Wilmore and Williams ultimately came home on

00:08:51 --> 00:08:53 a SpaceX dragon.

00:08:53 --> 00:08:55 Avery: A post mission investigation report released

00:08:55 --> 00:08:57 in February of this year classified that

00:08:57 --> 00:09:00 mission as a Type A mishap, NASA's

00:09:00 --> 00:09:03 most severe failure category, normally

00:09:03 --> 00:09:04 reserved for missions involving loss of

00:09:04 --> 00:09:07 vehicle or life. It cited hardware

00:09:07 --> 00:09:10 failures, qualification deficiencies and

00:09:10 --> 00:09:12 leadership shortcomings. Uh, at both NASA and

00:09:12 --> 00:09:13 Boeing, the

00:09:13 --> 00:09:16 Anna: core technical problem centers on what

00:09:16 --> 00:09:19 engineers call the doghouse, the

00:09:19 --> 00:09:21 structures that house Starliner's reaction

00:09:21 --> 00:09:24 control system. Thrusters. Heat generated

00:09:24 --> 00:09:27 by thruster firings causes the nitrogen

00:09:27 --> 00:09:29 tetroxide oxidizer to partially

00:09:29 --> 00:09:32 vaporize before combustion, creating

00:09:32 --> 00:09:34 gas bubbles and reducing thrust.

00:09:35 --> 00:09:37 Closing out those issues is what stands

00:09:37 --> 00:09:40 between now and the Starliner 1 flight

00:09:40 --> 00:09:43 Avery: panel member Kent Rominger, himself a former

00:09:43 --> 00:09:46 NASA astronaut, noted that 22 of the

00:09:46 --> 00:09:48 28 implied anomalies from the crew. Flight

00:09:48 --> 00:09:50 tests have now been resolved, but the

00:09:50 --> 00:09:53 remaining six, including the overheating

00:09:53 --> 00:09:55 thruster issue, still need to be closed

00:09:55 --> 00:09:56 before flight can be approved.

00:09:56 --> 00:09:59 Anna: In May, NASA confirmed Starliner 1

00:09:59 --> 00:10:02 will fly uncrewed as a resupply mission

00:10:02 --> 00:10:05 rather than a crew rotation, and the agency

00:10:05 --> 00:10:08 remains committed to the program. But as the

00:10:08 --> 00:10:11 panel made clear this week, there is no

00:10:11 --> 00:10:13 launch date and their may not be one for some

00:10:13 --> 00:10:14 time yet.

00:10:14 --> 00:10:17 Avery: It's a long road back for a spacecraft that

00:10:17 --> 00:10:19 was meant to be a cornerstone of NASA's

00:10:19 --> 00:10:21 Commercial Crew Program alongside SpaceX's

00:10:21 --> 00:10:24 Dragon. We'll keep you updated as this story

00:10:24 --> 00:10:24 develops.

00:10:25 --> 00:10:28 Anna: Story 5 is an update on yesterday's

00:10:28 --> 00:10:31 big launch story. SpaceX's brand new

00:10:31 --> 00:10:33 Starfall reentry capsule, which lifted off on

00:10:33 --> 00:10:36 a Falcon mine from Cape Canaveral yesterday

00:10:36 --> 00:10:39 morning, is still in low Earth orbit and

00:10:39 --> 00:10:41 a Pacific Ocean splashdown is imminent.

00:10:42 --> 00:10:44 Avery: Just to recap for listeners who missed

00:10:44 --> 00:10:46 yesterday's episode, Starfall is a disk

00:10:46 --> 00:10:49 shaped uncrewed Cargo Return capsule,

00:10:49 --> 00:10:52 3.1 meters across and only 75

00:10:52 --> 00:10:54 centimeters tall that SpaceX has been

00:10:54 --> 00:10:57 developing in remarkable secrecy. We only

00:10:57 --> 00:10:59 know as much as we do because the US Federal

00:10:59 --> 00:11:01 Aviation Administration published an

00:11:01 --> 00:11:03 environmental assessment back in May.

00:11:04 --> 00:11:06 SpaceX itself has said very little.

00:11:07 --> 00:11:10 Anna: What we know is the capsule confirmed

00:11:10 --> 00:11:13 orbital deployment at approximately 10:01 in

00:11:13 --> 00:11:15 the morning Eastern time yesterday. It's

00:11:15 --> 00:11:18 capable of carrying up to 1 kilograms

00:11:18 --> 00:11:21 of cargo. That's about 2 pounds,

00:11:22 --> 00:11:24 making it roughly 30 times the cargo return

00:11:24 --> 00:11:27 capacity of current commercial rivals.

00:11:27 --> 00:11:29 Avery: SpaceX has not announced a re entry date,

00:11:29 --> 00:11:31 which is very on brand for this mission,

00:11:31 --> 00:11:33 given they cut off their own webcast about 10

00:11:33 --> 00:11:36 minutes after launch. But the FAA

00:11:36 --> 00:11:38 environmental approval covers two re entry

00:11:38 --> 00:11:40 demonstrations, both targeting a recovery

00:11:40 --> 00:11:43 zone in the Pacific Ocean about 1300

00:11:43 --> 00:11:45 kilometers off the US West coast, with a

00:11:45 --> 00:11:47 recovery team standing by to retrieve the

00:11:47 --> 00:11:49 capsule by boat after splashdown.

00:11:49 --> 00:11:51 Anna: The bigger picture here is the market

00:11:51 --> 00:11:54 Starfall is targeting in space.

00:11:54 --> 00:11:57 Manufacturing. Growing pharmaceuticals,

00:11:57 --> 00:11:59 fiber optics, and exotic alloys in

00:11:59 --> 00:12:02 microgravity has been a, uh, theoretical

00:12:02 --> 00:12:04 commercial opportunity for decades. The

00:12:04 --> 00:12:07 barrier has always been getting finished

00:12:07 --> 00:12:09 products back to Earth affordably.

00:12:09 --> 00:12:12 Starfall, backed by Falcon 9's reusability

00:12:12 --> 00:12:15 economics, could be the vehicle that finally

00:12:15 --> 00:12:16 cracks that open.

00:12:17 --> 00:12:19 Avery: It's also worth noting that SpaceX

00:12:19 --> 00:12:22 simultaneously launched a $20 billion public

00:12:22 --> 00:12:24 bond offering on the same day as a Starfall

00:12:24 --> 00:12:27 demo. The company is clearly signaling that

00:12:27 --> 00:12:29 low Earth orbit manufacturing logistics is

00:12:29 --> 00:12:32 not a side project. It is a serious

00:12:32 --> 00:12:33 commercial business line.

00:12:33 --> 00:12:35 Anna: We'll bring you the splashdown news as, uh,

00:12:36 --> 00:12:38 soon as it comes in. Fingers crossed for a

00:12:38 --> 00:12:39 clean recovery.

00:12:39 --> 00:12:42 Avery: And for our final story today, we're

00:12:42 --> 00:12:44 traveling back in time, about 13 billion

00:12:44 --> 00:12:47 years, to be precise, to visit a galaxy

00:12:47 --> 00:12:49 that's in the process of building itself.

00:12:50 --> 00:12:52 Anna: Astronomers led from Leiden University in the

00:12:52 --> 00:12:55 Netherlands have discovered a vast reservoir

00:12:55 --> 00:12:58 of cold molecular gas in a galaxy

00:12:58 --> 00:13:01 called Rebels 25. And this

00:13:01 --> 00:13:03 gas is the direct raw material for star

00:13:03 --> 00:13:06 formation. We're seeing it as it appeared

00:13:06 --> 00:13:09 when the universe was only about 700 million

00:13:09 --> 00:13:12 years old. That's roughly 5% of the

00:13:12 --> 00:13:13 universe's current age.

00:13:14 --> 00:13:16 Avery: Now, to understand why this matters, here's a

00:13:16 --> 00:13:19 quick primer. Stars don't just appear from

00:13:19 --> 00:13:22 nothing. They form when enormous clouds of

00:13:22 --> 00:13:24 cold molecular gas, primarily hydrogen,

00:13:25 --> 00:13:27 become dense enough to collapse under their

00:13:27 --> 00:13:30 own gravity. The more cold gas a galaxy

00:13:30 --> 00:13:32 has, the more fuel it has to make new

00:13:32 --> 00:13:35 stars. Finding it is finding the engine.

00:13:36 --> 00:13:38 Anna: What makes the Rebels 25 discovery

00:13:38 --> 00:13:41 particularly exciting is its scale and its

00:13:41 --> 00:13:44 timing. The the researchers found not just a

00:13:44 --> 00:13:47 little cold gas, but a genuinely

00:13:47 --> 00:13:49 massive reservoir, far more than would have

00:13:49 --> 00:13:52 been expected in such a young galaxy. This

00:13:52 --> 00:13:54 tells us that even in the infant universe,

00:13:54 --> 00:13:57 some galaxies were accumulating the raw

00:13:57 --> 00:13:59 ingredients for star formation on a grand

00:13:59 --> 00:14:00 scale.

00:14:00 --> 00:14:03 Avery: The team used what's called redshift

00:14:03 --> 00:14:06 measurements to find and study Rebels 25,

00:14:06 --> 00:14:08 essentially measuring how much the universe's

00:14:08 --> 00:14:11 expansion has stretched the light from the

00:14:11 --> 00:14:13 galaxy to redder wavelengths over its long

00:14:13 --> 00:14:16 journey to us. Higher redshift means further

00:14:16 --> 00:14:19 away, and further away means further back in

00:14:19 --> 00:14:20 time.

00:14:20 --> 00:14:23 Anna: It's one of those stories that puts the scale

00:14:23 --> 00:14:25 of things into perspective. The light we're

00:14:25 --> 00:14:28 studying from Rebels 25 left that

00:14:28 --> 00:14:31 galaxy about 13 billion years ago.

00:14:31 --> 00:14:33 The stars that formed from that cold gas

00:14:33 --> 00:14:36 reservoir, if any of them still exist, would

00:14:36 --> 00:14:39 be among the oldest in the universe. And

00:14:39 --> 00:14:42 somewhere in that distant galaxy, right

00:14:42 --> 00:14:44 now, in its own reference frame, a, ah, star

00:14:44 --> 00:14:47 formation event is either happening or

00:14:47 --> 00:14:48 already long done.

00:14:49 --> 00:14:51 Avery: Cosmology never gets old.

00:14:51 --> 00:14:54 And on that beautifully mind bending note,

00:14:54 --> 00:14:55 it's time to wrap up today's show.

00:14:56 --> 00:14:59 Anna: That's Astronomy Daily for Wednesday, 25

00:14:59 --> 00:15:02 June 2026. We're season five,

00:15:02 --> 00:15:05 episode 123 and we are so glad

00:15:05 --> 00:15:05 you're here.

00:15:05 --> 00:15:08 Avery: You'll find today's show notes, source links,

00:15:08 --> 00:15:11 and our blog post over at astronomydaily

00:15:11 --> 00:15:13 IO. You can also follow us on social media.

00:15:13 --> 00:15:16 We're astrodaily, pod across x,

00:15:17 --> 00:15:19 Instagram, TikTok, and Tumblr.

00:15:19 --> 00:15:21 Anna: If you're enjoying the show, please take a

00:15:21 --> 00:15:23 moment to leave us a review. Wherever you

00:15:23 --> 00:15:26 listen, it genuinely helps new listeners find

00:15:26 --> 00:15:28 us. And we read every single one.

00:15:29 --> 00:15:31 Avery: Until tomorrow. Keep looking up.

00:15:31 --> 00:15:32 Anna: Clear skies everyone.

00:15:35 --> 00:15:35 Mhm.

00:15:38 --> 00:15:39 The.

00:15:43 --> 00:15:44 Story.